What is the first step you should take if you experience a tire blowout?

If you experience a tire blowout, the first step you should take is to hold the steering wheel firmly and slow down gradually. This action is critical because a blowout can cause your vehicle to become unstable, leading to potential loss of control. By maintaining a firm grip on the steering wheel, you can help keep the vehicle steady, preventing it from swerving or veering off course. Gradually slowing down allows you to reduce your speed in a controlled manner, which is much safer than making sudden moves, like hard braking or sharp turns, that could exacerbate the situation.

Turning on your hazard lights is certainly important for alerting other drivers, but it is not the immediate action that addresses the primary concern of maintaining control. Similarly, pulling over quickly can be dangerous if it means acting too hastily while the vehicle is still in an unstable condition, and accelerating only increases the risk of losing control even further. Taking the time to steady the vehicle and reduce speed properly is the best approach in this situation.